Based on the graphic novel of the same name, the 2009 Warner Bros. film Watchmen stars Patrick Wilson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Carla Gugino, Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley.Yahoo! Movies: Watchmen Cast and Credits The Zack Snyder directed feature is scheduled to hit theaters on March 6, 2009.Yahoo! Movies: Watchmen Overview

In it's debut weekend the film earned $55.7 Million. RottenTomatoes: Watchmen Scores $55.7 Million Opening (March 8, 2009)

• Set in the United States in 1985, the film explores the struggles of superheroes who have been stripped of their powers. Rather than protecting mankind, the superheroes are forced to protect themselves while coping with the rising political tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.IMAX: Watchmen The IMAX Experience

• Near the end of the graphic novel Watchmen, New York City is attacked by a giant monster. According to an interview with director Zack Snyder, posted to the film gossip website Dark Horizons, the monster did not appear in the script for his Watchmen film and was not shot for the movie.Dark Horizons: Zack Snyder on Watchmen (November 7, 2008) Instead, the new film will include an original ending that has been described as more "upbeat." Wired News: ...New Watchmen Ending (November 10, 2008) The move has upset some fans who, based on early footage and previous interviews with the film's creative team, had expected a thoroughly faithful adaptation of the graphic novel.Wired News: ...New Watchmen Ending (November 10, 2008)

• Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan/Jon Osterman
• Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl/Dan Dreiberg
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Comedian/Edward Blake
• Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach/Walter Kovacs
• Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre II/Laurie Jupiter
• Matthew Goode as Ozymandias/Adrian Veidt
• Carla Gugino as Silk Spectre/Sally Jupiter

At the time of the film's release, a number of parodies of The Watchmen appeared around the Internet. Production company Take 180 posted a spoof of Watchmen entitled Two and a Half Watchmen. The video featured the characters of Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan and Silk Spectre II acting out a scene reminiscent of the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. As well, animator Harry Partridge has contributed an animated spoof imagining the opening credit sequence of a fake Watchmen Saturday morning cartoon show.

On December 29, 2008, an attorney for 20th Century Fox announced that the studio intends to delay the Warner Bros. release of the film. The announcement came after U.S. District Judge Gary Feess ruled that Fox had "at the very least, a distribution right" in the film since they originally acquired the rights to Watchmen in 1986. A trial to settle a copyright infringement suit between FOX and Warner Bros. was scheduled for January 20, 2009. However, on January 9, 2009, both studios agreed that their on-going settlement talks had been "productive." The discussion continued into the following week and one studio executive called the talks "fruitful".Reuters UK: Watchmen Talks Proceed (January 14, 2009)

On January 14, 2009, The Hollywood Reporter reported the January 20, 2009 hearing had been canceled, speculating that a settlement may have been reached. THR: Watchmen Hearing Canceled (January 14, 2009) Just a day later, Variety reported that the two studios had reached a deal. While Warner Brothers will retain the right to open the movie, Fox will get an immediate cash settlement and a portion of the gross receipts from the movie's box office.Variety: WB, Fox Make Deal for Watchmen (January 15, 2009)